Anyone who knows me knows I go to Pop's in Milford every weekend with my parents. They've always been located on New Haven Ave in Milford across from Dunkin Donuts. They started out as Pop's Donuts in one building. Then they started serving breakfast and expanded. Eventually, they took over three store fronts in that plaza. Pop's is always booming with business. Over the past few months they have been building their own free-standing restaurant. Today was opening day. I went there twice. Yes, think what you want, but I am quite happy over here.
This morning I had to take my mom to the doctor so she treated me to breakfast as a thank you. When we first pulled in, no parking spaces were to be found. I was able to use some good old-fashioned parking lot stalking (thank you SCSU) and grabbed a spot. There's a large waiting area when you first walk in and then the hostess stand is after the next door. The restaurant is gorgeous. Very modern, brand new, clean, wonderful. It's open and quite inviting. The check-out area is to the left and there is still a breakfast bar right next to the check out area. There are booths in the first room and tables in the second room. The booths are roomy and very comfortable. We were seated in the first booth. All of the family from the original Pop's were glowing. We chatted with the daughters and the mother. They are such nice people. I'm happy that their business is continuing in their new location. We were given the breakfast menu, now that they are open until 9 pm. They have mostly the same things, a few of their specials are now regulars on the menu, and now there is a diet section on the menu. I ordered a Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries and blueberries on top. Delicious. My mom ordered the low-cholesterol french toast. It's made with wheat bread and egg whites and is served with a fresh fruit cup. She loved her breakfast as well. The coffee is great and now they even have fancier, cafe style coffees. Breakfast was tasty, it filled us up, and was affordable. It didn't look like prices changed. Needless to say, I was stuffed the rest of the day.
It wasn't until dinner time that I started to have a rumble in my tummy. My dad was upset that my mom and I went to "his" place without him. I felt the only was to correct this was to go with my dad and brother to Pop's for dinner. It was still pretty busy, but not nearly as busy as it was in the morning. Some of the girls from breakfast were still there and so was Pop. This time we sat in the second room. There's a beautiful fire place and TV in that room. The menu was fairly large. All of the sandwiches that are offered during lunch, pannini, wraps, salads, and dinners. They had meat dinners, diner classics, chicken, seafood, pasta, soups, and specials. A perfect menu. I was tempted to order the chicken salad melt- a lunch classic from Pop's but I wanted something really hot. I ordered the chicken philly sub. Delicious. Cheese melting everywhere. It was seasoned grilled chicken with mushrooms, cheese, and onion. I could only eat half but it was a good half. It came with fries, coleslaw, and a pickle. Delish. My dad had a hot, open-face turkey sandwich. It was toast, turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce with mashed potatoes on the side. It came with a soup. He ordered the beef minestrone. It looked fantastic. You could see the fresh chunks of beef. Looked great. My brother had their Greek pannini. Chicken, spinach, tomato, and tzatziki sauce. He said his was delicious as well.
Overall, Pop's is fantastic. I'm so happy they are now open for dinner. Sometimes you just want a place to get a sandwich for dinner. I hate places that are only open for lunch. The majority of the world is working! Not everyone can order from their place of work and are unable to go to these wonderful places. Restaurants that are only open for dinner always feel the need to be fancy and have full course meals. I can't wait to go back for dinner. I know I'll be heading there with DJ, it will be a nice place to go when I go out for Girl's Night. Just love it. Full for now but until my next bite....
Monday, July 8, 2013
Brunch at La Luna
On Sunday I went to brunch with some of my favorite food companions. I went with DJ, Chrissy, and Anthony to the 10:30 brunch seating at La Luna in Branford. It's $21.95 per person for all you can eat. Now typically, I don't like brunch because I'm against the idea of a buffet in general. This brunch was decent considering it's a buffet. Let's take this review from the top- the website says you must have a reservation to eat during brunch hours. I assumed that the restaurant would be bustling with people but that wasn't the case. We were seated in the middle of this room that was filled with a good number of circle tables. Other than one very undressed couple with their unruly child, we were alone in this room. A complimentary beverage comes with brunch. You are given the choice of a mimosa, bloody Mary, or an orange juice. Of course I chose the bloody. Anthony and I had bloodys while DJ and Chrissy ordered the mimosa. The bloody was delicious. Very horseradish and peppery tasting. Looking back on it, I don't think there was a celery stick in it. That's a negative. We all ordered coffees and were given these fancy, yet small coffee mugs.
After the beverages were brought we were told that brunch was ready and we could help ourselves. The food area was set up in a somewhat organized way. When you walked in the room the breakfast hot plate things were to the right. They had sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, homefries, french toast, and eggs benedict. Around the corner they had muffins, bagels, and danishes. On the left was the omelet station and the waffle irons. The website said that the waffles were made to order with a choice of toppings but that wasn't true. The waffle irons were there but the people looked at me like I had 7 heads when I went up there to say I wanted a waffle. Once you passed the omelet station, the lunch food began. I thought that was backwards. The breakfast should have been near the waffles and omelets, no? The lunch stretched to the center of the room. They had a few carving stations, some pasta, broccoli rabe and sausage, fried calamari and shrimp, mussels and clams, and some other meat items I can't quite remember. Right in the center there was a table that was filled with salads, a cold antipasto, fruit salads, and veggies. There was a wide variety of food but I don't know. Brunches bother me a bit. They should have food that could pass for breakfast or lunch. They shouldn't have such clear cut items. I mean who wants mussels and clams dripping on your eggs?
The food was okay. We all went back to the buffet three times. I started with eggs, eggs benedict, a strip of bacon and a sausage link. The eggs benedict were no good. Eggs benedict are supposed to be served with a poached egg on top. These eggs were hard boiled. Anthony did point out that the eggs probably continued to cook while in their little hot serving tray, which I agree with, but then don't put eggs benedict on the menu. I've been watching a bit too much Gordon Ramsey. I'm very snobby when it comes to eggs I guess. The waffles were good, the fresh fruit was quite fresh, but the best were the mussels and clams. I got "lunch" my third time up. The fried fish was gross. The fry got all soft and the piece of calamari was hard as a rock. I felt like I was biting someone's finger. Who knows... maybe the cook had an accident. It was too early, for me, to try any of the pasta. Chrissy had the pasta and she said it was good. The mussels and clams were the best. They were in this broth that had a nice mirepoix (aromatics- celery, carrots, onion). I love mussels just love them. I was watching the history channel- the 100 foods that changed America. They said that the first settlers survived because of eating raw oysters. Now I know this is a bit different, but I could imagine myself surviving off of mussels. I could see myself as the Pequot girl taking all the mussels to the garbage area. (My grade partners will understand this and now have a frightful mental picture. My apologies.)
To sum up, La Luna is a good place to go for brunch. They have it every Sunday at both locations. (Branford and Mystic) I'm not wild for brunch in general, but this was pretty good. I thought it was reasonably priced. The food was good for the most part and the waitstaff was attentive. I believe my companions felt the same. No one raved and went on and on how good it was, but no one spit food in their napkins either. Until my next bite..
After the beverages were brought we were told that brunch was ready and we could help ourselves. The food area was set up in a somewhat organized way. When you walked in the room the breakfast hot plate things were to the right. They had sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, homefries, french toast, and eggs benedict. Around the corner they had muffins, bagels, and danishes. On the left was the omelet station and the waffle irons. The website said that the waffles were made to order with a choice of toppings but that wasn't true. The waffle irons were there but the people looked at me like I had 7 heads when I went up there to say I wanted a waffle. Once you passed the omelet station, the lunch food began. I thought that was backwards. The breakfast should have been near the waffles and omelets, no? The lunch stretched to the center of the room. They had a few carving stations, some pasta, broccoli rabe and sausage, fried calamari and shrimp, mussels and clams, and some other meat items I can't quite remember. Right in the center there was a table that was filled with salads, a cold antipasto, fruit salads, and veggies. There was a wide variety of food but I don't know. Brunches bother me a bit. They should have food that could pass for breakfast or lunch. They shouldn't have such clear cut items. I mean who wants mussels and clams dripping on your eggs?
The food was okay. We all went back to the buffet three times. I started with eggs, eggs benedict, a strip of bacon and a sausage link. The eggs benedict were no good. Eggs benedict are supposed to be served with a poached egg on top. These eggs were hard boiled. Anthony did point out that the eggs probably continued to cook while in their little hot serving tray, which I agree with, but then don't put eggs benedict on the menu. I've been watching a bit too much Gordon Ramsey. I'm very snobby when it comes to eggs I guess. The waffles were good, the fresh fruit was quite fresh, but the best were the mussels and clams. I got "lunch" my third time up. The fried fish was gross. The fry got all soft and the piece of calamari was hard as a rock. I felt like I was biting someone's finger. Who knows... maybe the cook had an accident. It was too early, for me, to try any of the pasta. Chrissy had the pasta and she said it was good. The mussels and clams were the best. They were in this broth that had a nice mirepoix (aromatics- celery, carrots, onion). I love mussels just love them. I was watching the history channel- the 100 foods that changed America. They said that the first settlers survived because of eating raw oysters. Now I know this is a bit different, but I could imagine myself surviving off of mussels. I could see myself as the Pequot girl taking all the mussels to the garbage area. (My grade partners will understand this and now have a frightful mental picture. My apologies.)
To sum up, La Luna is a good place to go for brunch. They have it every Sunday at both locations. (Branford and Mystic) I'm not wild for brunch in general, but this was pretty good. I thought it was reasonably priced. The food was good for the most part and the waitstaff was attentive. I believe my companions felt the same. No one raved and went on and on how good it was, but no one spit food in their napkins either. Until my next bite..
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Vespucci's/Sonic
In an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the mayhem caused by the 3rd of July in West Haven, DJ and I ventured to Cheshire for dinner. We had originally decided to go to Grand Apizza of Cheshire and then to Cheshire Coffee, but when we arrived to Grand Apizza we were shocked to see that all of the businesses in that small area were out of business. I used my Yelp app to see what else was in the area. Quite a few places came up but I had already prepared myself for Italian, so we decided to give Vespucci's a try. I also wanted to try Rossini's but they were closed that day. Vespucci's was a bit odd to me. It was this tiny, cute building that stood alone behind the Stop and Shop plaza. The pizza boxes were lined up, blocking the windows in back. We walked in and to the left was the take-out area and to the right were booths and tables. We were seated very close to the door so I really didn't get a good feel of what the main dining area was like.
Our waitress was nice and took our drink order while we decided what we were going to eat. Pizza or a dinner? It's always a tough decision for me. I always like to look at the people around me to see what they are eating before I decide. Unfortunately, everyone around me had just recently placed their order. The menu had a few pasta dishes, chicken, beef, seafood, veal, and baked dishes. Although that sounds like a lot of choices, it really wasn't. Nothing really jumped out at me. Everything was simple- eggplant parm, lasagna, linguini and clams, spaghetti and meatballs, shrimp fra diavolo, chicken francese, steak- you get it. DJ wasn't going to order a dinner so I would have felt out of place if I did and he got a sub. We both decided that we would get our own pizzas. It really does upset me that we don't see eye to eye in the pizza world.
DJ ordered the Hawaiian pizza and I ordered one of the specialty pizzas. I chose the pizza Romana. It had shrimp, roasted red peppers, prosciutto, mozzarella, and a mild hot sauce. Sounds delicious, right? Not exactly. I should know by now not to order pizza in towns too far from the center of West Haven. The shrimp, first of all, were those teeny tiny shrimp that come out of a can. That right there skeeved me out. The prosciutto was a nice touch but my biggest complaint is with the lack of sauce. This was not spicy at all. There was no spicy sauce, no hot sauce, or tomato sauce. This pizza was as dry as a scarecrow in Indian summer. I ate a few slices (I have a weakness for pizza) but I was very disappointed with my choice. Meanwhile the two booths across from us were served these dishes that looked divine. One had scallops, one had steak. It looked great. DJ liked his but I mean when you order a pizza like that, obviously you don't have high standards.
I wouldn't quite yet put Vespucci's on the "never again list" but I will keep you posted. I'd like to go back and try some of the dinners. This is definitely on the list of "never order pizza". It wasn't just the toppings that made me dislike it. The crust was odd. It was thin, but it wasn't. It was so dry and tasteless. Just terrible pizza. Just terrible.
We then went to the movies in Wallingford and still needed to kill some time before we attempted to head back to WH. DJ had the idea of going to Sonic for some ice cream. We parked in the drive up section and had some shakes. I had the peanut butter cookie shake and DJ had the Oreo. Both were very good. I was impressed by how many frozen treats Sonic offered. I've eaten the regular food there before. It's ok. It's mediocre fast food. When Sonic first opened, it was so difficult to get a spot to park. I guess the food is what turned everyone away because otherwise, it's a cool place to visit. Great limeades. We left and easily made it to West Haven. Once we actually arrived in the city, it must have taken me a half hour to get home. We were constantly redirected by police. We had to do a complete roundabout and could only get near the beach from Savin Ave. It was terrible. The amount of people out on the streets was absurd. I now have a smaller radius in my house search.
To sum up- Skip Vespucci's, especially for pizza, Go to Sonic only if you're in the area, and the 3rd of July remains my least favorite day of the year. Until my next bite...
Our waitress was nice and took our drink order while we decided what we were going to eat. Pizza or a dinner? It's always a tough decision for me. I always like to look at the people around me to see what they are eating before I decide. Unfortunately, everyone around me had just recently placed their order. The menu had a few pasta dishes, chicken, beef, seafood, veal, and baked dishes. Although that sounds like a lot of choices, it really wasn't. Nothing really jumped out at me. Everything was simple- eggplant parm, lasagna, linguini and clams, spaghetti and meatballs, shrimp fra diavolo, chicken francese, steak- you get it. DJ wasn't going to order a dinner so I would have felt out of place if I did and he got a sub. We both decided that we would get our own pizzas. It really does upset me that we don't see eye to eye in the pizza world.
DJ ordered the Hawaiian pizza and I ordered one of the specialty pizzas. I chose the pizza Romana. It had shrimp, roasted red peppers, prosciutto, mozzarella, and a mild hot sauce. Sounds delicious, right? Not exactly. I should know by now not to order pizza in towns too far from the center of West Haven. The shrimp, first of all, were those teeny tiny shrimp that come out of a can. That right there skeeved me out. The prosciutto was a nice touch but my biggest complaint is with the lack of sauce. This was not spicy at all. There was no spicy sauce, no hot sauce, or tomato sauce. This pizza was as dry as a scarecrow in Indian summer. I ate a few slices (I have a weakness for pizza) but I was very disappointed with my choice. Meanwhile the two booths across from us were served these dishes that looked divine. One had scallops, one had steak. It looked great. DJ liked his but I mean when you order a pizza like that, obviously you don't have high standards.
I wouldn't quite yet put Vespucci's on the "never again list" but I will keep you posted. I'd like to go back and try some of the dinners. This is definitely on the list of "never order pizza". It wasn't just the toppings that made me dislike it. The crust was odd. It was thin, but it wasn't. It was so dry and tasteless. Just terrible pizza. Just terrible.
We then went to the movies in Wallingford and still needed to kill some time before we attempted to head back to WH. DJ had the idea of going to Sonic for some ice cream. We parked in the drive up section and had some shakes. I had the peanut butter cookie shake and DJ had the Oreo. Both were very good. I was impressed by how many frozen treats Sonic offered. I've eaten the regular food there before. It's ok. It's mediocre fast food. When Sonic first opened, it was so difficult to get a spot to park. I guess the food is what turned everyone away because otherwise, it's a cool place to visit. Great limeades. We left and easily made it to West Haven. Once we actually arrived in the city, it must have taken me a half hour to get home. We were constantly redirected by police. We had to do a complete roundabout and could only get near the beach from Savin Ave. It was terrible. The amount of people out on the streets was absurd. I now have a smaller radius in my house search.
To sum up- Skip Vespucci's, especially for pizza, Go to Sonic only if you're in the area, and the 3rd of July remains my least favorite day of the year. Until my next bite...
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Ann's Surprise Bash
On Sunday I went to a surprise party for my co-worker and friend, Ann. The weather was stinky but the rain held out while I was there. Amy and I arrived before Ann did. It was funny at first because we walked into the backyard and did not recognize a soul. No one seemed to even notice us but we felt like cookout crashers, so we went around to the front door. Finally we found some Washington people! As we sat there chatting, Ann's husband, Barry, was running all around. He is a chef and certainly displayed his cooking skills at Ann's party. Tray after tray was getting pumped out of the kitchen. Ann arrived and we were able to dig into the food.
Barry made trays of chicken parm, eggplant rollatini, meatballs, sausage and peppers, penne alla vodka, salad, tuna macaroni salad, potato salad, and what some were calling "chicken marsala" but I don't think it was chicken marsala. I think it was more of a chicken piccata because there were capers and it seemed to have a little coating on it. I ate at 2:30 that day and did not eat again until the next morning. The food was delicious. My personal favorites were the chicken piccata, meatballs, and tuna macaroni salad. Everything was tasty but those were especially noteworthy. The meatballs were great - they blew Lorenzo's out of the water. I would love it if Ann invited me to her house for meatball parm subs one night.
Ann informed me that Barry now has a food truck that will hopefully be up and running very soon. The truck is going to be named WTF- Wrap That Food. I can't wait for the truck to be up and running. I hope that it is parked on Brown Street on Fridays so that finally we can get a treat. Lunch time is always when I seem to miss Haley. If Barry's WTF truck is as good as the food at Ann's surprise bash, he'll be the next person you see on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives!
Summer vacation is here and my goal is to go to a new restaurant every week. Here's a list of places hope to soon try/return to are: The Guilford Mooring, The Place, Abbott's, Campania. If any intrigue you, let me know and you can help me blog! Until my next bite....
Barry made trays of chicken parm, eggplant rollatini, meatballs, sausage and peppers, penne alla vodka, salad, tuna macaroni salad, potato salad, and what some were calling "chicken marsala" but I don't think it was chicken marsala. I think it was more of a chicken piccata because there were capers and it seemed to have a little coating on it. I ate at 2:30 that day and did not eat again until the next morning. The food was delicious. My personal favorites were the chicken piccata, meatballs, and tuna macaroni salad. Everything was tasty but those were especially noteworthy. The meatballs were great - they blew Lorenzo's out of the water. I would love it if Ann invited me to her house for meatball parm subs one night.
Ann informed me that Barry now has a food truck that will hopefully be up and running very soon. The truck is going to be named WTF- Wrap That Food. I can't wait for the truck to be up and running. I hope that it is parked on Brown Street on Fridays so that finally we can get a treat. Lunch time is always when I seem to miss Haley. If Barry's WTF truck is as good as the food at Ann's surprise bash, he'll be the next person you see on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives!
Summer vacation is here and my goal is to go to a new restaurant every week. Here's a list of places hope to soon try/return to are: The Guilford Mooring, The Place, Abbott's, Campania. If any intrigue you, let me know and you can help me blog! Until my next bite....
Sunday, June 30, 2013
A Day on the Island
What better way to celebrate the first day of summer vacation than by heading over to Newport? I went with Lindsey and Judy to my favorite destination spot. We decided to get an early start and leave early on Saturday morning. We grabbed a little DD on the way. The day started off gray and a little misty. We parked in the public parking garage that's kind of near Panera Bread. We were praying that it wouldn't rain and thankfully, it did not. As the day went on it started to get brighter and then the sun came out. I just love Newport. I think it's the perfect type of city. It's a city with businesses blossoming but it is also so attractive. No blight. There are plenty of things to do, but no disgusting smells, trash bag ladies on the sidewalk, buses, exhaust. It's wonderful. It's where I would have put my summer cottage too if I had been alive during the Gilded Age.
We started off near Bowen's Wharf and went to a few stores. The restaurants were filling the air with the smell of wonderful food. Fudge shops, The Cookie Jar, seafood restaurants, burgers, steaks. Wonderful. That's a Yankee Candle they should make- Hot off the Grill. If they can make a bacon candle why not one that smells like hamburgers and hotdogs? The only problem with lunchtime in Newport is getting a seat somewhere. I was really set on trying a new restaurant bur I ended up with an old faithful. Bay had recommended The Smokehouse but Lindsey doesn't like it there so that was out, we thought about Diego's but Judy was not feeling Mexican, I wanted to try the Cooke House but the lack of seats and AC made me pass on that, we were going to go to the Wharf Pub (Lindsey's former place of employment) but they also lack an AC. We also were hot and tired. We could have walked up to the area by Nikolas pizza but I mean, who are you kidding? There had to have been a decent restaurant near us, with AC, little to no wait, and reasonable prices for lunch. Where did that lead us to? The Red Parrot.
I love The Red Parrot. I'm not as crazy about the food as I am about ambiance. There was no wait, which was a huge surprise. We were seated at a high top table in the front of the restaurant. It was nice. We ordered some cocktails to start. Lindsey had a bloody, Judy had the raspberry colada, and I had a Narragansett. I think I was the only one pleased with their choice of drink. Sometimes you need to leave the fancy crap and just go by the standbys. To eat, Linds and Judy both had a cheeseburger. They both liked it very much and I must admit that it looked great. I ordered something new. I had the coconut shrimp wrap. It had coconut shrimp, avocado, lettuce, pineapple, and mandarin oranges. It came with tortilla chips and pineapple salsa. The waiter even said, "Great choice" when I ordered. That's the third time my order choice had been complimented on. No dessert. We had to move on.
We continued our trip on the opposite side of the street now. We popped in a few more stores and decided to get our afternoon treat at Cupcake Charlie's. They were winners on Cupcake Wars. The cupcake was delicious. I had the lemon drop, Judy had the chocolate mint, and Lindsey had a red velvet. They have quite a few other flavors as well. They have a website you can check out and apparently they ship nationwide. Fabulous. We continued our shopping spree back down to the parking garage. We ended our day (half falling asleep) driving down Ocean Drive. It was a great day overall. I was in my favorite city with my favorite ladies on my first day of summer vacation. Wonderful trip.
We started off near Bowen's Wharf and went to a few stores. The restaurants were filling the air with the smell of wonderful food. Fudge shops, The Cookie Jar, seafood restaurants, burgers, steaks. Wonderful. That's a Yankee Candle they should make- Hot off the Grill. If they can make a bacon candle why not one that smells like hamburgers and hotdogs? The only problem with lunchtime in Newport is getting a seat somewhere. I was really set on trying a new restaurant bur I ended up with an old faithful. Bay had recommended The Smokehouse but Lindsey doesn't like it there so that was out, we thought about Diego's but Judy was not feeling Mexican, I wanted to try the Cooke House but the lack of seats and AC made me pass on that, we were going to go to the Wharf Pub (Lindsey's former place of employment) but they also lack an AC. We also were hot and tired. We could have walked up to the area by Nikolas pizza but I mean, who are you kidding? There had to have been a decent restaurant near us, with AC, little to no wait, and reasonable prices for lunch. Where did that lead us to? The Red Parrot.
I love The Red Parrot. I'm not as crazy about the food as I am about ambiance. There was no wait, which was a huge surprise. We were seated at a high top table in the front of the restaurant. It was nice. We ordered some cocktails to start. Lindsey had a bloody, Judy had the raspberry colada, and I had a Narragansett. I think I was the only one pleased with their choice of drink. Sometimes you need to leave the fancy crap and just go by the standbys. To eat, Linds and Judy both had a cheeseburger. They both liked it very much and I must admit that it looked great. I ordered something new. I had the coconut shrimp wrap. It had coconut shrimp, avocado, lettuce, pineapple, and mandarin oranges. It came with tortilla chips and pineapple salsa. The waiter even said, "Great choice" when I ordered. That's the third time my order choice had been complimented on. No dessert. We had to move on.
We continued our trip on the opposite side of the street now. We popped in a few more stores and decided to get our afternoon treat at Cupcake Charlie's. They were winners on Cupcake Wars. The cupcake was delicious. I had the lemon drop, Judy had the chocolate mint, and Lindsey had a red velvet. They have quite a few other flavors as well. They have a website you can check out and apparently they ship nationwide. Fabulous. We continued our shopping spree back down to the parking garage. We ended our day (half falling asleep) driving down Ocean Drive. It was a great day overall. I was in my favorite city with my favorite ladies on my first day of summer vacation. Wonderful trip.
Duffy's Last Day o' School!
School is finally over for the year! We went over to the best place to celebrate- Duffy's. I was worried that we wouldn't have a table when we first got there but luckily the staff was very accommodating. They pulled over two of their larger tables and we were all able to sit together. I started off the day with a nice ice cold bloody. It's just from a bottle but let me tell you, it's delicious. A nice celery stalk, green olives, and lemon wedge. We all toasted to the end of a great year and the hopes of great year ahead.
It's a tradition of many of the teachers to order a tuna melt on the last day. The tuna melt is very good from Duffy's, but I'm yet to join in the tuna melt tradition. It's served on an English muffin with a slice of tomato and melted cheese on top. The fries at Duffy's are great. I'm so happy that they changed them from the steak fries. Most ordered the tuna melt, some ordered the lobster grilled cheese, and I ordered the French dip with melted cheese. The lobster grilled cheese has havarti cheese and from what I'm told, is delicious. I loved my French dip. I wish there was a little more dip. They give you a huge bulky sandwich and this dainty little cup in which to dip your sandwich. It tastes great though. We didn't order anything else. I know I was a little stuffed from the pizza truck we had at school during the day. Great tradition.
On another Duffy's note, I went there earlier in the week for dinner. I ordered one of their specials- salmon with cucumber wasabi and avocado salsa. It was delicious. At first I didn't think that it worked well- two worlds colliding, but then it did. It was very very good. It came with soup or salad. Of course, I ordered the soup (Rhode Island clam chowder). It also came with a choice of side. I ordered the baked potato because I'm trying to watch my intake of food. The baked potato was as hard as your head so I didn't eat any of it. The salmon itself was filling enough. I was happy with my meal, but if you want to actually eat your side, don't order the baked potato. DJ ordered the Godfather Melt. I've had it before. It is delicious. A cheeseburger on toast with bacon and some other lovely things. Duffy's is a favorite of mine.
It's a tradition of many of the teachers to order a tuna melt on the last day. The tuna melt is very good from Duffy's, but I'm yet to join in the tuna melt tradition. It's served on an English muffin with a slice of tomato and melted cheese on top. The fries at Duffy's are great. I'm so happy that they changed them from the steak fries. Most ordered the tuna melt, some ordered the lobster grilled cheese, and I ordered the French dip with melted cheese. The lobster grilled cheese has havarti cheese and from what I'm told, is delicious. I loved my French dip. I wish there was a little more dip. They give you a huge bulky sandwich and this dainty little cup in which to dip your sandwich. It tastes great though. We didn't order anything else. I know I was a little stuffed from the pizza truck we had at school during the day. Great tradition.
On another Duffy's note, I went there earlier in the week for dinner. I ordered one of their specials- salmon with cucumber wasabi and avocado salsa. It was delicious. At first I didn't think that it worked well- two worlds colliding, but then it did. It was very very good. It came with soup or salad. Of course, I ordered the soup (Rhode Island clam chowder). It also came with a choice of side. I ordered the baked potato because I'm trying to watch my intake of food. The baked potato was as hard as your head so I didn't eat any of it. The salmon itself was filling enough. I was happy with my meal, but if you want to actually eat your side, don't order the baked potato. DJ ordered the Godfather Melt. I've had it before. It is delicious. A cheeseburger on toast with bacon and some other lovely things. Duffy's is a favorite of mine.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Jazzed Up Shrimp
This is going to be a short post. Like I said, I've been dining out less so there hasn't been a steady flow of posts. I'm hoping to hit up some spots all over the state this summer. So I already blogged once before about my shrimp and spinach scampi, but tonight I made something a little bit different. Nothing drastic but absolutely delicious.
I started off with the olive oil and butter. Let that bubble then add minced garlic. Swirl it around a few times and add some red pepper flakes. Then I added the shrimp. I sprinkled the shrimp salt and pepper. Once the shrimp is almost completely pink, Add some white wine to the mix. Let that come up to a boil to cook away the alcohol. I then added capers, marinated artichoke hearts, and green beans. Let everything come up to temperature. I added 2 ladles of pasta water and then added the pasta. I used angel hair tonight because that's what I had. You, obviously, can use whatever you like. I have to say, I enjoy angel hair. I know not everyone does (particularly the people in my family) but I love it. It's so light and delicate that it didn't take away from the shrimp, artichokes, and green beans. I could not believe how great it tasted with a slight change of ingredients.
I also want to mention that I had planned to make a salad and put grilled shrimp on it. When I got home from work; however, it was raining and my dad had the air conditioner blasting all day. I had no desire to put my beautiful little shrimps (I know the plural is shrimp but because of "The Birdcage" I always say shrimps in the voice of Agador) on cold and wet salad. I kept a little veg with artichoke and green beans. I just can't help it. I love shrimp over pasta. I think it is my absolute favorite thing to eat. Seafood and pasta is a fabulous combination. I think the slight tang of the vinegar in the capers and artichoke marinade really made it taste all the better. It was simple and quick to make on a Monday night. By time the water was boiled and the pasta was cooked, we were ready to eat. Highly recommend!!!
I started off with the olive oil and butter. Let that bubble then add minced garlic. Swirl it around a few times and add some red pepper flakes. Then I added the shrimp. I sprinkled the shrimp salt and pepper. Once the shrimp is almost completely pink, Add some white wine to the mix. Let that come up to a boil to cook away the alcohol. I then added capers, marinated artichoke hearts, and green beans. Let everything come up to temperature. I added 2 ladles of pasta water and then added the pasta. I used angel hair tonight because that's what I had. You, obviously, can use whatever you like. I have to say, I enjoy angel hair. I know not everyone does (particularly the people in my family) but I love it. It's so light and delicate that it didn't take away from the shrimp, artichokes, and green beans. I could not believe how great it tasted with a slight change of ingredients.
I also want to mention that I had planned to make a salad and put grilled shrimp on it. When I got home from work; however, it was raining and my dad had the air conditioner blasting all day. I had no desire to put my beautiful little shrimps (I know the plural is shrimp but because of "The Birdcage" I always say shrimps in the voice of Agador) on cold and wet salad. I kept a little veg with artichoke and green beans. I just can't help it. I love shrimp over pasta. I think it is my absolute favorite thing to eat. Seafood and pasta is a fabulous combination. I think the slight tang of the vinegar in the capers and artichoke marinade really made it taste all the better. It was simple and quick to make on a Monday night. By time the water was boiled and the pasta was cooked, we were ready to eat. Highly recommend!!!
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